Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Irregardless

When someone says "irregardless" to me, I want to look them in the eye, and ask them:

"Do you know what responsible means?"

After they answer, I would ask:

"Do you know what irresponsible means?"

If they did not catch on I would have to go on:

"Do you know what regardless means?"

They may explain, and of course I would have to say something like:

"And why are you using irregardless where you mean regardless?"

Actually the word irregardless is somewhat interesting to me. If you look it up in a dictionary, or at least this is the case with the dictionaries that I have looked it up in, it will tell you that irregardless is non-standard and that it means regardless. Why? Why does irregardless and regardless mean the same thing? And why do some people use the longer word?

Dictionary.com says that it is probably a blend of irrespective and regardless, and that many mistakenly believe it is correctly used in formal style (I know some of those people... I've never been rude enough to correct them ... I probably should ... it would be a favor to them).

To me, it is extremely bizzare example of a double negative. In grade school I remember teachers and other students correcting kids who said things like "I don't got no pencil" by telling them how absurd it is to use double negatives. "Don't" and "no" cancel each other out, so what you are really saying is that you have a pencil. I'll bet that many of the same self-righteous know-it-alls who took pleasure in correcting "don't got no" have grown up and are the very people who use the prefix "ir" and the suffix "less" in the same word.

Irregardless of anything, I am now a business owner. I left the company with which I have been employeed since 1999 (7 years) to do exactly the same thing I was doing before. Several people suggested that as an independent contractor, it would be beneficial it I started an S-Corp of 1 person (me) rather than go and make deals as an individual. So, I am now the owner and sole employee of SheppyTect Solutions, Inc. http://www.sheppytect.com .

It is extremely easy to become incorporated. In colorado, all you have to do it go online, fill out a form, pay $25 and suddenly, there you are. Then, go to the IRS online and fill out a form for your EIN. Then, go and set up a small-business checking account and you are there. I still have to submit a form 2553 to the IRS to get the "S" designation. I'm not sure what will happen if I don't do that in time. I think it will make my life much more complicated than I want. I need to get it sent in before March 15th for the designation to take effect this tax year.

It is sort of fun being a business owner. It doesn't really seem real; it is almost like I am playing at being one. The fact that I am one person and a Corportation seems somewhat amusing to me. Pretty soon, I'll be writing myself pay-checks, re-imbursement myself expenses, charging myself rent for my home office. It all just seems sort of bizzare.